Colin Cowherd believes that MLS will be more popular than NHL in 2 yrs.

[sabresfaninthesouth]

I'm not going to jump on the train that viewership means more popularity. Viewership of the Olympics is usually high but that doesn't mean gymnastics, bobsledding or rowing is going to surge in popularity because of it.

I do believe Soccer is growing in popularity at a higher level here in the US but it will not pass the NHL in the next 5 years.

That's a tough comparison though because the Olympics is really the pinnacle for those sports. There's really no competitive leagues to speak of (large ones I mean).

The World Cup is the pinnacle of soccer only at the international level. In between there's an extraordinarily healthy network of club leagues that can retain a person's interest in between tournaments.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

But as someone else pointed out, the limiting factor for soccer is money. Sponsors much prefer baseball/basketball/football....where there are frequent breaks and opportunities for ads and commercials. Ticket/concessions/merchandise sales only go so far. You need the sponsors for the big money. You need the big money to pay for and attract the best athletic talent. Someone who has the athletic ability to excel at soccer probably also has the ability to play some other sports. And so long as there's a huuuuge difference in the earning potential for baseball/basketball/football/hockey players, most natural athletes will continue to chose those sports.

And when MLS is getting the "B" level athletic talent from the US, the product suffers.

Until marketing people figure out how to sell ads for soccer at a much much much higher rate, MLS soccer can only go so far .

this is a for me because I think saccer is probably the most corporate sponsor friendly sport out there

it might not be the conventional pro sports advertising we know of in North America but ...

its not the multimillions that euro teams might get from kit sponsors but as the league grows ...

 

[dash]

It's a nice change from the swamp days where well-articulated, rational posts were ban material.

However, without those ill-advised bannings, Snork_McGigglepants or dash2dahills would never have been born (lol)

 

[xpuctaqpGT]

this is a for me because I think saccer is probably the most corporate sponsor friendly sport out there

it might not be the conventional pro sports advertising we know of in North America but ...

its not the multimillions that euro teams might get from kit sponsors but as the league grows ...

The problem with that is.....what's in it for the TV networks to air the games? I'm not sure how much money each sponsor pays for the logo on the jersey...but until the TV people can make money off of it the games don't get as much attention from them. In college football, the ACC gets $17 mil per team per year for 14 teams. The MLS recently negotiated new deals with ESPN/FOX/Univision that took them from $1.4 mil to $4.7 mil per team per year. It was a huge boost for MLS tv revenue, but still well below what a middle of the pack college football conference makes.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

this is a for me because I think saccer is probably the most corporate sponsor friendly sport out there

it might not be the conventional pro sports advertising we know of in North America but ...

its not the multimillions that euro teams might get from kit sponsors but as the league grows ...

Should be noted that most of the European leagues sell their rights to pay TV companies, and that is where the lion's share of their revenues come from. This is a model that isn't feasible for a growing league like MLS; they're extremely lucky somebody is giving them $90 million for their US rights as it is because I really don't see how ESPN or NBC are making money off of it.

European clubs also sell their shirt sponsors and kit providers individually.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

The key to growing the popularity of MLS is getting players who match the calibre of players in Europe. Without that, the product on the field is awful and it's really tough to sell the American public on a second-rate league.

I read somewhere a week or so ago, and I will try to find the article, stating how viewership in EPL and the Champions League tends to spike after the World Cup in the US, while MLS sees a minor bump immediately that dissipates once the European leagues begin again the next month. MLS is seeing a benefit from the World Cup, but once viewers realize how shit the play is compared to what they just watched for a month straight they tune out.

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

The problem with that is.....what's in it for the TV networks to air the games? I'm not sure how much money each sponsor pays for the logo on the jersey...but until the TV people can make money off of it the games don't get as much attention from them. In college football, the ACC gets $17 mil per team per year for 14 teams. The MLS recently negotiated new deals with ESPN/FOX/Univision that took them from $1.4 mil to $4.7 mil per team per year. It was a huge boost for MLS tv revenue, but still well below what a middle of the pack college football conference makes.

Not addressing any of your arguments, just dropping this here to answer that particular question, at least for the big dogs:

The Five Most Expensive Jersey Sponsorships In European Soccer - Forbes

Not included below are Manchester City’s ten-year, $640 million deal with Etihad and Arsenal’s five-year, $240 million deal with Emirates. Since those deals include stadium naming rights whose value isn’t publicly separated from the jersey sponsorships, it’s difficult to parse out the value of the jersey ads alone. Deals are ranked on a per-year basis.

1.) Manchester United
Chevrolet | $80 Million

2.) Barcelona
Qatar Airways | $38 million

3.) Bayern Munich
Deutsche Telekom | $37 million

4.) Liverpool
Standard Chartered | $33 million

5.) Real Madrid
Bwin | $29 million

 

[jstewismybastardson]

The problem with that is.....what's in it for the TV networks to air the games? I'm not sure how much money each sponsor pays for the logo on the jersey...but until the TV people can make money off of it the games don't get as much attention from them. In college football, the ACC gets $17 mil per team per year for 14 teams. The MLS recently negotiated new deals with ESPN/FOX/Univision that took them from $1.4 mil to $4.7 mil per team per year. It was a huge boost for MLS tv revenue, but still well below what a middle of the pack college football conference makes.

obviously there is something in it for the tv networks if you have 2 of the major sports players with MLS broadcast rights and the other (NBC Sports) disappointed that it was left out ... at this stage its a cheap buy for summer programming ... as ratings increase, the coin will too

 

[Phantomphan]

The problem with that is.....what's in it for the TV networks to air the games? I'm not sure how much money each sponsor pays for the logo on the jersey...but until the TV people can make money off of it the games don't get as much attention from them. In college football, the ACC gets $17 mil per team per year for 14 teams. The MLS recently negotiated new deals with ESPN/FOX/Univision that took them from $1.4 mil to $4.7 mil per team per year. It was a huge boost for MLS tv revenue, but still well below what a middle of the pack college football conference makes.

The networks will do what they are doing with baseball and hockey - computerized ads in the out of bounds areas (the wall behind the catcher and the glass behind the nets) and they will work out deals for all the ads that are on the wall circling the pitch. If the advertisers see enough interest in the game, they will find a way to promote products without commercial interruptions. Think about it - who would have ever thought we would see ads behind the nets during hockey games? With technology as it is a way will be found if it is deemed cost effective. Never doubt the creativity of people trying to make a buck.

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

The networks will do what they are doing with baseball and hockey - computerized ads in the out of bounds areas (the wall behind the catcher and the glass behind the nets) and they will work out deals for all the ads that are on the wall circling the pitch. If the advertisers see enough interest in the game, they will find a way to promote products without commercial interruptions. Think about it - who would have ever thought we would see ads behind the nets during hockey games? With technology as it is a way will be found if it is deemed cost effective. Never doubt the creativity of people trying to make a buck.

I'm not positive, but I believe most of that is already a deal between the TV providers and the advertisers. WC is a bit different I think since it's a central broadcast that goes out all around the world, but I think that's how it works at the club level.

 

[forty_three]

The biggest thing holding Hockey back in this country is that for a vast amount of us we didn't grow up around ice. Other than in drinks with umbrellas and bendy straws. I was born in Tampa, Florida in 1973. We didn't get the Lightning until.....1990? And between Tampa and St. Pete there was maybe ONE ice skating rink. One rink in a combined metro area of 2 million people. I believe much of the south/southwest is like this. It's harder for a sport to catch on with the public when most of us can't relate to the sport on a personal level.

Excellent post - I have a question for you - how many sheets of Ice does Tampa have now? The team is pretty well established, has a reasonable expectation of success and has won at the highest level. Just curious what that has done to the local hockey scene.

Because that's the key to expansion. Not the first generation of people and their exposure to the sport, it's the second and third. The people who were kids when the team came and maybe tried hockey now have kids of their own. That's the measure of success. How do the people who have always had hockey feel about the sport?

However, without those ill-advised bannings, Snork_McGigglepants or dash2dahills would never have been born (lol)

I presented many well thought out, reasoned arguments about the physical characteristics of Chris Drury's face.

The networks will do what they are doing with baseball and hockey - computerized ads in the out of bounds areas (the wall behind the catcher and the glass behind the nets) and they will work out deals for all the ads that are on the wall circling the pitch. If the advertisers see enough interest in the game, they will find a way to promote products without commercial interruptions. Think about it - who would have ever thought we would see ads behind the nets during hockey games? With technology as it is a way will be found if it is deemed cost effective. Never doubt the creativity of people trying to make a buck.

There are ways to generate revenue for sure, but when was the last time some local pizza shop or local car dealer could afford to get a sideline ad on a broadcast like that? Why would a regional supermarket or specialty store advertise that way to areas that serve markets they aren't in?

I just feel like the lack of "TV Timeouts" ultimately hurts it because the smaller local places get priced out. Supply and demand. Look at how much hype there is for Commercial slots at the Super Bowl. And each local station that broadcasts it gets part of that. If only national level sponsors are coming, the local stations get priced out and pre-empt the programming for other events where they themselves make money.

 

[Phantomphan]

I'm not positive, but I believe most of that is already a deal between the TV providers and the advertisers. WC is a bit different I think since it's a central broadcast that goes out all around the world, but I think that's how it works at the club level.

The WC, yes, but I'm talking about how it will work at the club level in this country.

 

[Phantomphan]

There are ways to generate revenue for sure, but when was the last time some local pizza shop or local car dealer could afford to get a sideline ad on a broadcast like that? Why would a regional supermarket or specialty store advertise that way to areas that serve markets they aren't in?

I just feel like the lack of "TV Timeouts" ultimately hurts it because the smaller local places get priced out. Supply and demand. Look at how much hype there is for Commercial slots at the Super Bowl. And each local station that broadcasts it gets part of that. If only national level sponsors are coming, the local stations get priced out and pre-empt the programming for other events where they themselves make money.[/QUOTE]

I'm mainly talking about local broadcasting as the theme seems to be how will soccer compete with the NHL. Advertising for local teams can be done this way and is now for most televised sports. I can see local Comcast stations working this out if they were to televise a team in their area. We have car dealers and other businesses in this area that advertise on broadcasts of Phillies games so it can work that way.

Now, if you are talking about national telecasts like the NFL or MLB on TBS, yeah that could be more problematic. But most things start at the local level so it is possible if the popularity increases enough, which, as I've said, I don't believe it will.

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

They just need to turn the announcers into salespeople by having a sponsorship on everything.

Guy takes a dive on the pitch: "This replay brought to you Scuba Steve's Scuba Supply Superstore, where we do our diving in the ocean."

Guy misses hits the ball 20 yards wide of goal: "This replay brought to you by Greg's Golf where we can help you fix that slice."

 

[jstewismybastardson]

There are ways to generate revenue for sure, but when was the last time some local pizza shop or local car dealer could afford to get a sideline ad on a broadcast like that? Why would a regional supermarket or specialty store advertise that way to areas that serve markets they aren't in?

I just feel like the lack of "TV Timeouts" ultimately hurts it because the smaller local places get priced out. Supply and demand.

just to add to what sabresfaninthesouth mentions, the LED perimeter board ad revenue is split between the TV providers, the team and the advertisers

some of the local MLS broadcasts have the local adverts

plus there is always local radio for the mom and pop shops to buy time/space on



/aside: Pintys Chicken (who? - lol) was sponsoring Genie Bouchard up until championship Saturday at Wimbledon ... then suspiciously their ads on TSN no longer featured Genie Bouchard ... supply & demand ftw

 

[forty_three]

They just need to turn the announcers into salespeople by having a sponsorship on everything.

Guy takes a dive on the pitch: "This replay brought to you Scuba Steve's Scuba Supply Superstore, where we do our diving in the ocean."

Guy misses hits the ball 20 yards wide of goal: "This replay brought to you by Greg's Golf where we can help you fix that slice."

A few years ago, two DJs based in DC gave Dan Snyder a really rough ride when he triple sold things like the "out of town" scoreboard. I watched a game once and it was "Now, Geico presents the McDonald's out of town scoreboard, brought to you by Dodge" or some shit. It was nauseating.




I miss Don and Mike.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

the provincial govt owned stadium the MLS vancouver whitecaps play at was going to take on a naming rights sponsor after it was renovated

Telus was the frontrunner
Bell is the team kit sponsor and "pitch" sponsor

2 of the biggest competing telcomms in canada

the broadcasts were going to have to go with "... the whitecaps take on the Seattle Sounders coming to you live from Bell Pitch at Telus Field"

 

[xpuctaqpGT]

Excellent post - I have a question for you - how many sheets of Ice does Tampa have now? The team is pretty well established, has a reasonable expectation of success and has won at the highest level. Just curious what that has done to the local hockey scene.

Because that's the key to expansion. Not the first generation of people and their exposure to the sport, it's the second and third. The people who were kids when the team came and maybe tried hockey now have kids of their own. That's the measure of success. How do the people who have always had hockey feel about the sport?

I want to say there are maybe 5-6 places in the Tampa/St Pete area where you can ice skate. It's just very very expensive to have ice when the outside air temp is 90F. I think there's a somewhat more active street hockey team scene with rollerblades and what not...but I'm 41 years old and not really paying much attention to it.

 

[Thruthefog]

They are basically the same sport. They both suck.

 

[SLY]

They are basically the same sport. They both suck.

You came to the NHL forum to post this... Why?